There is something fishy with the sudden interest of BFAR to implement a 1999 order to ban the sale of some imported fish in wet markets and supermarkets. Covered by the ban are salmon head and belly, and pompano.
Up to 35,000 workers in the fishing and canning industry will lose their jobs in the next three months with the implementation of the closed fishing season.
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources has forged a partnership with the Canned Sardines Association of the Philippines to meet the supply of sardines for canneries during the closed fishing season.
The sardines industry is set to launch a pilot study on resource sharing between commercial and municipal fishers in Zamboanga del Norte to address the sardines issue in a sustainable manner.